2021–22 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team represented the University of Iowa during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by 12th-year head coach Fran McCaffery and played its home games at Carver–Hawkeye Arena as members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 26–10, 12–8 in Big Ten play to finish in a three-way tie for fourth place. The 26 wins were the most wins in a season for Iowa since the Elite Eight team in 1986–87 earned 30 wins. As the No. 5 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they defeated Northwestern, Rutgers, Indiana, and Purdue to win the tournament championship. As a result, the Hawkeyes received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament and drew the No. 5 seed in the Midwest region. Despite winning 9 of its previous 10 games and boasting the second-best efficiency margin in Division 1 between February 1 and the start of the tournament, the Hawkeyes were upset by No. 12-seeded Richmond in the first round.^[1]

2021–22 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball
Big Ten tournament champions
NCAA tournament, First Round
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 21
AP	No. 16
Record	26–10 (12–8 Big Ten)
Head coach	Fran McCaffery (12th season)
Assistant coaches	Sherman Dillard Kirk Speraw Billy Taylor
Home arena	Carver–Hawkeye Arena
Seasons ← 2020–21 2022–23 →

2021–22 Big Ten Conference
men's basketball standings

	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 19 Illinois	15	–	5		.750			23	–	10		.697
No. 14 Wisconsin	15	–	5		.750			25	–	8		.758
No. 10 Purdue	14	–	6		.700			29	–	8		.784
Rutgers	12	–	8		.600			18	–	14		.563
No. 16 Iowa †	12	–	8		.600			26	–	10		.722
Ohio State	12	–	8		.600			20	–	12		.625
Michigan State	11	–	9		.550			23	–	13		.639
Michigan	11	–	9		.550			19	–	15		.559
Indiana	9	–	11		.450			21	–	14		.600
Maryland	7	–	13		.350			15	–	17		.469
Penn State	7	–	13		.350			14	–	17		.452
Northwestern	7	–	13		.350			15	–	16		.484
Nebraska	4	–	16		.200			10	–	22		.313
Minnesota	4	–	16		.200			13	–	17		.433
† Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Sophomore forward Keegan Murray earned consensus First-team All-American honors, and established a new school record for points in a season. It was the third consecutive season that an Iowa player was selected a consensus First-team All-American and set a new school record for points in a season (Luka Garza, 2019–20 and 2020–21).

Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Hawkeyes finished the 2020–21 season 22–9, 14–6 in Big Ten play to finish in third place. They defeated Wisconsin in the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten tournament before losing to Illinois in the semifinals. The Hawkeyes received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 2 seed in the West region. They defeated Grand Canyon in the first round before losing to Oregon in the second round, ending their chances at their first Sweet Sixteen since 1999. Iowa spent all but two weeks of the season ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll and ended with a No. 8 ranking.

Senior center Luka Garza was named Big Ten Player of the Year^[2] and a consensus All-American for the second consecutive season. He was also named the consensus National Player of the Year and ended his career with a school-record 2,306 points (seventh in Big Ten history). After his last home game in a Hawkeye uniform, it was announced that his No. 55 jersey would be retired. Senior guard Jordan Bohannon ended the season with school-records of 639 assists and 364 three-point field goals (second in Big Ten history).

Offseason

Returning players

Senior guard Jordan Bohannon announced on April 26 that he would return to Iowa taking advantage of the extra year of eligibility from the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[3]

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Michael Baer	0	F	6'7"	215	RS Junior	Bettendorf, IA	Graduated
CJ Fredrick	5	G	6'3"	195	RS Sophomore	Cincinnati, OH	Transferred to Kentucky
Luka Garza	55	C	6'11"	265	Senior	Washington, D.C.	Graduated, NBA draft
Jack Nunge	2	F	6'11"	245	RS Sophomore	Newburgh, IN	Transferred to Xavier
Joe Wieskamp	10	G/F	6'6"	212	Junior	Muscatine, IA	Declared for NBA draft

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Filip Rebrača	0	F	6'9"	230	Senior	Sombor, Serbia	Transferred from North Dakota. Will be eligible to play immediately.

2021 recruiting class

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Riley Mulvey C	Rotterdam, NY	St. Thomas More	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	Apr 21, 2021
	Recruit ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Payton Sandfort PF	Waukee, IA	Waukee	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Oct 1, 2020
	Recruit ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Overall recruit ranking:    247Sports: 68
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2021 Iowa Basketball Commitment List". Rivals. Retrieved July 14, 2021. "ESPN – Iowa Hawkeyes Men's Basketball Recruiting". ESPN. Retrieved July 14, 2021. "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals. Retrieved July 14, 2021. "Iowa 2021 Basketball Commits". 247Sports. Retrieved July 14, 2021.

Roster

2021–22 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 0 Filip Rebrača 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr North Dakota Sombor, Serbia G 2 Joe Toussaint 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Cardinal Hayes HS Bronx, NY G 3 Jordan Bohannon 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Sr Linn-Mar HS Marion, IA G 4 Ahron Uhlis 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Marian Catholic HS Chicago, IL G 11 Tony Perkins 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Lawrence North HS Indianapolis, IN G 13 Austin Ash (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Sr Mount Vernon HS Cedar Rapids, IA G 14 Carter Kingsbury (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr Brewster Academy Ponca, NE F 15 Keegan Murray 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Prairie HS/DME Sports Academy Cedar Rapids, IA G 20 Payton Sandfort 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Waukee HS Waukee, IA F 22 Patrick McCaffery 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS So Iowa City West HS Iowa City, IA F 23 Josh Ogundele 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 265 lb (120 kg) So Worcester Academy London, England F 24 Kris Murray 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Prairie HS/DME Sports Academy Cedar Rapids, IA G 25 Luc Laketa (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr The Winchendon School Concord, MI G/F 30 Connor McCaffery 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Sr Iowa City West HS Iowa City, IA C 44 Riley Mulvey 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Fr St. Thomas More School Rotterdam, NY	Head coach Fran McCaffery (Penn) Assistant coach(es) Sherman Dillard (James Madison) Kirk Speraw (Iowa) Billy Taylor (Notre Dame) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Source^[4]

Depth chart

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2
C	Filip Rebrača	Josh Ogundele	Riley Mulvey
PF	Keegan Murray	Kris Murray
SF	Patrick McCaffrey	Payton Sandfort
SG	Tony Perkins	Joe Toussaint	Austin Ash
PG	Jordan Bohannon	Connor McCaffrey	Ahron Uhlis

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 5, 2021* 7:00 p.m., BTN+		Slippery Rock	W 99–47	0–0	18 – P. McCaffery	8 – P. McCaffery	5 – Toussaint	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (10,789) Iowa City, IA
Regular season
November 9, 2021* 9:00 p.m., BTN+		Longwood	W 106–73[5]	1–0	24 – Ke. Murray	7 – Tied	5 – Ulis	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (9,259) Iowa City, IA
November 12, 2021* 7:00 p.m., BTN+		Kansas City	W 89–57[6]	2–0	25 – Ke. Murray	13 – Rebrača	6 – Toussaint	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (11,133) Iowa City, IA
November 16, 2021* 8:00 p.m., BTN		North Carolina Central	W 86–69[7]	3–0	27 – Ke. Murray	21 – Ke. Murray	4 – Ulis	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (9,132) Iowa City, IA
November 18, 2021* 6:00 p.m., BTN		Alabama State	W 108–82[8]	4–0	26 – Ke. Murray	8 – Tied	11 – Toussaint	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (9,957) Iowa City, IA
November 22, 2021* 8:30 p.m., BTN		Western Michigan	W 109–61[9]	5–0	29 – Ke. Murray	8 – Kr. Murray	8 – Ulis	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (10,044) Iowa City, IA
November 26, 2021* 6:00 p.m., BTN+		Portland State	W 85–51[10]	6–0	24 – Ke. Murray	9 – Ke. Murray	7 – C. McCaffery	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (11,756) Iowa City, IA
November 29, 2021* 6:00 p.m., ESPN2		at Virginia Big Ten–ACC Challenge	W 75–74[11]	7–0	20 – Bohannon	9 – Ke. Murray	3 – Tied	John Paul Jones Arena (13,542) Charlottesville, VA
December 3, 2021 8:00 p.m., BTN		at No. 2 Purdue	L 70–77[12]	7–1 (0–1)	15 – P. McCaffery	5 – Tied	4 – Toussaint	Mackey Arena (14,804) West Lafayette, IN
December 6, 2021 6:00 p.m., FS1		Illinois Rivalry	L 83–87[13]	7–2 (0–2)	19 – Ke. Murray	8 – Rebrača	7 – Ulis	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (12,072) Iowa City, IA
December 9, 2021* 8:00 p.m., ESPN2		at No. 17 Iowa State Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series	L 53–73[14]	7–3	17 – Bohannon	7 – Ke. Murray	4 – Ulis	Hilton Coliseum (14,267) Ames, IA
December 18, 2021 8:00 p.m., BTN		vs. Utah State Sanford Pentagon Showcase	W 94–75[15]	8–3	35 – Ke. Murray	7 – Ke. Murray	4 – Tied	Sanford Pentagon (3,250) Sioux Falls, SD
December 21, 2021* 7:00 p.m., BTN+		Southeastern Louisiana	W 93–62[16]	9–3	20 – Ke. Murray	10 – Ke. Murray	5 – Toussaint	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (10,891) Iowa City, IA
December 29, 2021* 7:00 p.m., BTN+		Western Illinois	W 92–71[17]	10–3	29 – Ke. Murray	10 – Ke. Murray	5 – Ulis	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,056) Iowa City, IA
January 3, 2022 8:00 p.m., BTN		Maryland	W 80–75[18]	11–3 (1–2)	35 – Ke. Murray	8 – Tied	9 – Toussaint	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (10,327) Iowa City, IA
January 6, 2022 8:00 p.m., FS1		at No. 23 Wisconsin	L 78–87[19]	11–4 (1–3)	27 – Ke. Murray	7 – P. McCaffery	4 – Toussaint	Kohl Center (15,212) Madison, WI
January 13, 2022 8:00 p.m., FS1		Indiana	W 83–74[20]	12–4 (2–3)	29 – Kr. Murray	11 – Kr. Murray	2 – Tied	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (11,246) Iowa City, IA
January 16, 2022 1:00 p.m,, BTN		at Minnesota	W 81–71[21]	13–4 (3–3)	25 – Ke. Murray	12 – Rebrača	7 – Toussaint	Williams Arena (10,925) Minneapolis, MN
January 19, 2022 7:30 p.m., BTN		at Rutgers	L 46–48[22]	13–5 (3–4)	13 – Ke. Murray	13 – Ke. Murray	5 – Toussaint	Jersey Mike's Arena (8,000) Piscataway, NJ
January 22, 2022 3:30 p.m., BTN		Penn State	W 68–51[23]	14–5 (4–4)	15 – Ke. Murray	8 – Ke. Murray	4 – Tied	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,056) Iowa City, IA
January 27, 2022 8:00 p.m., FS1		No. 6 Purdue	L 73–83[24]	14–6 (4–5)	23 – Kr. Murray	9 – Ke. Murray	3 – Toussaint	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (12,723) Iowa City, IA
January 31, 2022 6:00 p.m., BTN		at Penn State	L 86–90[25] 2OT	14–7 (4–6)	21 – Ke. Murray	7 – P. McCaffery	5 – Tied	Bryce Jordan Center (7,977) University Park, PA
February 6, 2022 3:30 p.m., BTN		Minnesota	W 71–59[26]	15–7 (5–6)	24 – Ke. Murray	15 – Ke. Murray	3 – Ke. Murray	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (14,558) Iowa City, IA
February 10, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN2		at Maryland	W 110–87[27]	16–7 (6–6)	30 – Tied	7 – Ke. Murray	5 – Bohannon	Xfinity Center (12,649) College Park, MD
February 13, 2022 1:00 p.m., FS1		Nebraska	W 98–75[28]	17–7 (7–6)	37 – Ke. Murray	8 – Sandfort	4 – McCaffrey	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (13,772) Iowa City, IA
February 17, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN		Michigan	L 79–84[29]	17–8 (7–7)	23 – Ke. Murray	7 – Ke. Murray	5 – Perkins	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (13,048) Iowa City, IA
February 19, 2022 2:30 p.m., FOX		at No. 18 Ohio State Rescheduled from February 3	W 75–62[30]	18–8 (8–7)	24 – Ke. Murray	8 – Kr. Murray	2 – Tied	Value City Arena (15,876) Columbus, OH
February 22, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 25	Michigan State	W 86–60[31]	19–8 (9–7)	28 – Ke. Murray	7 – Rebrača	4 – Toussaint	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (14,634) Iowa City, IA
February 25, 2022 8:00 p.m., FS1	No. 25	at Nebraska	W 88–78[32]	20–8 (10–7)	20 – Perkins	11 – Ke. Murray	4 – Bohannon	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,960) Lincoln, NE
February 28, 2022 8:00 p.m., BTN	No. 24	Northwestern	W 82–61[33]	21–8 (11–7)	26 – Ke. Murray	18 – Ke. Murray	4 – Bohannon	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (13,231) Iowa City, IA
March 3, 2022 8:00 p.m., FS1	No. 24	at Michigan	W 82–71[34]	22–8 (12–7)	23 – Ke. Murray	7 – Ke. Murray	3 – Ke. Murray	Crisler Center (12,707) Ann Arbor, MI
March 6, 2022 6:30 p.m., FS1	No. 24	at No. 20 Illinois Rivalry	L 72–74[35]	22–9 (12–8)	22 – Ke. Murray	12 – Perkins	5 – Perkins	State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL
Big Ten tournament
March 10, 2022 1:15 p.m., BTN	(5) No. 24	vs. (12) Northwestern Second round	W 112–76[36]	23–9	26 – Ke. Murray	9 – Rebrača	6 – Perkins	Gainbridge Fieldhouse (14,856) Indianapolis, IN
March 11, 2022 1:20 p.m., BTN	(5) No. 24	vs. (4) Rutgers Quarterfinals	W 84–74[37]	24–9	26 – Ke. Murray	8 – Ke. Murray	5 – C. McCaffery	Gainbridge Fieldhouse (15,848) Indianapolis, IN
March 12, 2022 12:00 p.m., CBS	(5) No. 24	vs. (9) Indiana Semifinals	W 80–77[38]	25–9	32 – Ke. Murray	9 – Ke. Murray	5 – Perkins	Gainbridge Fieldhouse (17,762) Indianapolis, IN
March 13, 2022 2:30 p.m., CBS	(5) No. 24	vs. (3) No. 9 Purdue Championship	W 75–66[39]	26–9	19 – Ke. Murray	11 – Ke. Murray	4 – Perkins	Gainbridge Fieldhouse (17,732) Indianapolis, IN
NCAA tournament
March 17, 2022 2:10 p.m., truTV	(5 MW) No. 16	vs. (12 MW) Richmond First Round	L 63–67[40]	26–10	21 – Ke. Murray	9 – Tied	3 – Tied	KeyBank Center (16,017) Buffalo, NY
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Central Time.

Source^[41]

Rankings

See also: 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Final
AP	—	RV	RV	RV	RV	—	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	25	24	24	16	Not released
Coaches	RV	RV^	RV	RV	RV	—	—	—	—	—	RV	RV	RV	—	RV	RV	25т	23	19	21

^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.